He gave away his Staffordshire Bull Terrier, put his four-bedroom home up for sale and sold some of his most precious belongings, including family heirlooms, in order to provide a legacy to his relatives.

Mr McMahon claims the same doctor who gave him a terminal diagnosis then reversed his conclusion three months later, after further examinations showed that blemishes on an ultrasound scan of his liver were harmless.

By that time, Mr McMahon had lost all his belongings. The false alarm also caused severe emotional stress to his girlfriend and relatives, who were already suffering after the death of his mother and brother to lung cancer in recent years.